Shoes. That's what Peter Jackson, director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy who famously shares a hobbit's preference for being unshod, would toss into Mount Doom instead of that terrible ring. As this historic three-year odyssey comes to an end — the final chapter, The Return of the King, has reigned at the box office four weeks in a row — USA TODAY talks to a dozen of the lead players as they look back at the final chapter and ahead to post-Rings projects. [More]